Federal High Court Grants El-Rufai Bail Amid Ongoing Trial

A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has granted bail to former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who is currently facing allegations of financial misconduct.

The ruling was delivered by Justice Rilwan Aikawa, even as proceedings continue at the Kaduna State High Court where the former governor is also standing trial on multiple charges.

El-Rufai is being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over issues relating to deposits into his domiciliary account and the handling of his earnings while in office.

However, his bail application before the Kaduna State High Court suffered a setback, as the presiding judge, Justice Darius Khobo, adjourned ruling on the matter until April 21, 2026.

The former governor was arraigned on Monday, April 13, 2026, by operatives of the ICPC alongside personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS). He is facing an amended nine-count charge following a review of the initial filings by the prosecution.

Court documents reveal that one of the major allegations against El-Rufai is the approval of about ₦11 billion from Kaduna State funds to an unregistered entity for a proposed light rail project that was never executed.

He is also accused of approving and receiving ₦289.8 million as severance allowance an amount significantly higher than the legally approved entitlement of about ₦20 million thereby allegedly conferring undue financial benefit on himself.

In addition, the prosecution claims he mismanaged over $1.08 million from a World Bank loan granted to Kaduna State, in violation of the terms attached to the facility.

El-Rufai has denied all the allegations.

During the hearing, his defence counsel, led by Barrister Ubong Akpan, raised objections over the late service of the amended charges, noting that the documents were only made available in court.

This prompted Justice Khobo to adjourn the case to allow the defence adequate time to study the new filings.